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CHAPTER

31

ROBYN WAS PROBABLY OUT AT the site by now, and Cal went back to packing food away. Matthew wondered where his friend was putting it.

“I thought you said you were done,” Matthew said, then half-laughed and looked at Alex.

Cal narrowed his eyes at him and crammed another forkful into his mouth. “I thought I was done.” He hitched his shoulders. “I wasn’t.”

Alex quirked an eyebrow at Matthew. “Do Canadians have a habit of speaking with their mouths full, or is this specific to Cal?”

“Oh, that’s classic Cal.”

Cal swallowed, and it looked like something the size of a rodent slid down his throat.

Matthew laughed, but Cal didn’t give any indication of being amused. It turned Matthew’s thoughts somber. They’d survived by pure luck, as far as he was concerned. So many delicate variables had aligned to make their rescue possible. If anything had been different, they wouldn’t be here now. He lifted his champagne glass. “To surviving.”

Cal lifted his glass without relinquishing his fork. Alex clinked her glass to Matthew’s, then Cal’s. “To finding the Emerald Tablets,” Alex said.

Boy, could he drink to that. He tipped back his glass and emptied it.

Thinking about how close they were to the Tablets was almost painful. His ever-increasing anticipation had yet to be satisfied, leaving an ache in his chest. The hidden room they’d discovered taunted him. It had been empty, save the snakes, and led to a secondary staircase. What was its purpose? Did it have something to do with the Tablets? Where did the stairs go? What if Jasper knew something he wasn’t telling others? He’d been the only one to actually enter the hidden room, and he had been in an awful hurry to get back out to the site. And he took Robyn along with him.

Matthew got to his feet and rubbed his jaw.

“What is it?” Alex sat back, drawing up one of her legs and resting her foot on the bench.

“I’m just thinking about the empty room we found and wondering why it was there.” He wasn’t going to say everything on his mind just yet.

“It was another exit,” she said.

He shook his head. “Nah, I think there was more to it.”

Alex put her leg down, and her brow wrinkled in confusion. “What are you saying? You think it has something to do with the Tablets?”

“Well, that and…” He paced a few steps. “What if they’re hidden in there somewhere?”

“It was just an empty room. We both saw that.” She was watching him as if he’d lost his mind.

“I remember what I saw, but it’s hard to get a good look at something when it’s mostly dark and you’re at a distance.”

“Jasper already told us what he found in that room.” The set of Alex’s jaw told Matthew she was confident that he had disclosed everything. It turned out keeping quiet about Jasper was probably the right call—at least until he determined where Jasper’s loyalties lay.

Cal belched loudly. Normally, that wouldn’t impress the ladies. But Alex was laughing, and Matthew found himself smiling. He loved the way her nose crinkled up and her eyes sparkled when she was amused.

“What? It’s a natural bodily function,” Cal said, defensive.

“Yeah, for a caveman.” Matthew winked at Alex.

“Ahem.” Cal cleared his throat. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Matthew nodded. “Fire away.”

“In private.”

“Ah, sure.” He turned to Alex. “I’ll be right back.”

Cal led the way out of the tent. He let out another belch and rubbed his stomach. Surely his friend hadn’t called him out here to ask for antacids. “What is it?”

Cal’s eyes were ablaze. “I’m tempted to hit you upside the head.”

Heat gripped Matthew’s chest as aggravation sparked within him. “What? Why?”

Cal shook his head.

Matthew splayed his hands out in front of him. “What did I do?”

“Robyn’s out in the desert…at night…with strangers. Male strangers, may I add.”

“They’re not strangers,” Matthew fired back, and guilt snaked through him, especially given his earlier doubts about Jasper.

A pulse ticked in Cal’s jaw. “I should have gone with Robyn. We don’t really know anything about them other than their names.”

“But Alex does.”

“Ah, Alex.” Cal threw his hands in the air.

Matthew shifted his weight. “I’m not a mind reader, Cal. What’s this about?”

Cal stared at him pointedly. “Do you know why Robyn volunteered to spend the night out there?”

“This is a find of a lifetime and something she’s dreamed about—”

“Don’t play stupid.”

That turned Matthew’s temper up to a low boil. “Enlighten me.”

“She didn’t want to watch you carrying on with Alex.”

“Come on. Carrying on with her? We’re old friends.” He squared his shoulders, insulted.

“Old friends who never got to be more than that.”

The hairs rose on the back of Matthew’s neck, along with his temperature. “Are you being serious right now? You’re telling me that Robyn has a problem with Alex and me, and that’s why she went back to the site?”

Cal stared at him but said nothing. He didn’t have to; it was written all over his face.

“There’s no reason my attraction to Alex should affect Robyn at all,” Matthew said. “We’re friends.”

“She loves you.” Cal’s tone carried an inferred duh!

“As a friend. Just like I—”

“That’s not what I’m saying, and you know it.”

Matthew raked a hand through his hair. “Wow, just speak your mind.”

“Well, it’s the truth,” Cal said, voice raised.

“She’s dating; I’m dating. If you remember, we tried the whole romantic relationship thing and failed miserably.”

“And you say I’m the dramatic one? ‘Failed miserably’? Come on.” Cal pursed his lips. “It was just the timing.”

“Yeah, well, timing is everything.” Just like how they got lucky being rescued. Cal had just happened to have the radio on at the right time.

“Ah, I see.” Cal smirked and bobbed his head. “And now that Alex’s fiancé is out of the way—”

“The timing with her is better.” Matthew gritted his teeth.

“So the timing is better with Alex, but what about with Robyn? Maybe it’s time to be with Robyn now.”

Matthew’s breath hitched. It would be a dream if that were the case. But he knew better. They worked better as friends. After all, wouldn’t it complicate the hell out of everything if they ever were to become more again?

“Nothing to say to that, eh?” Cal pressed his lips. “I just wish you and Robyn would stop fooling yourselves. I hate seeing two of my best friends torn up because they’re both too damn stubborn to admit their feelings for each other.”

“Oh, we’ve admitted to them…in the past.” And it had happened all because Matthew had slipped and called her baby when she’d been shot.

His mind went back to the runway in Toronto when they’d returned home after finding the City of Gold.

“You know how I feel about you, Robyn.”

She angles her head back to gaze into his eyes. “And you know how I feel.”

He detects the softness in her tone, the fact that she feels the exact same way, but there is also sadness and regret there, too.

“I know it’s not our time right now,” he says.

Robyn shakes her head, and with it, she spears his heart.

“We’re in the past,” he blurted out, coming back to the present. “Robyn and I are friends, and that’s all.” Forget a simmer, his temper had escalated to a hard, vigorous boil. “And if you’ll excuse—”

“She went out in the desert, Matthew, with snakes, scorpions, and God knows what else just to get away from you and Alex. Think about that.” Cal stormed off in the direction of his tent, leaving Matthew to do exactly that.

While he could have stood there, contemplating all the ways he’d messed up with Robyn, he’d end up coming back to the same conclusion he had so many times before: their friendship was everything to him, and he didn’t want to risk screwing it up. What if they tried again and things didn’t work out? Then where would they be? Would they be able to salvage any sort of relationship at that point? He’d rather have her as a friend than risk not having her at all.

“Matt?”

He turned to see that Alex had come outside. “Is everything all right?” she asked.

He pressed on a smile. “Yeah, everything’s good. Do you want another glass of champagne?”

Alex smiled at him. “Sounds good to me.” She spun to go inside the tent again, and he grabbed her arm, and she turned to face him.

He had to forget about Robyn, about the way her flesh had felt under his fingertips, about the light in her eyes when she’d spoken of loving him. And even though all this had been a while ago, he could conjure up the memories as if they’d happened mere moments ago. It hurt too much to dwell on, and it really was best for Robyn—and for him—if they just buried that part of their lives.

He looked at Alex and let his eyes fall to her lips, then moved toward her. His mouth met hers, and she melted against his body.